


Free Falling

by InkyJustine



Series: Drakecest Week [5]
Category: Uncharted (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Drakecest Week, Eventual Smut, First Time, Fix-It, M/M, Sibling Incest
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-18
Updated: 2017-08-18
Packaged: 2018-12-16 23:53:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11839644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InkyJustine/pseuds/InkyJustine
Summary: Nathan pulls Sam up on the building with Rafe's help. Strangely enough, things go uphill from there.





	Free Falling

**Author's Note:**

> Drakecest Week: Day 5 - Young Brothers
> 
> This is so short, I'm sorry ;A;

_Sam almost didn‘t make the jump._

Nathan‘s breath stuttered, heart almost stopping in his chest as he clutched Sam‘s hand. Sam‘s hand, which was like a vice around his as his feet scrabbled against the side of the building. Against the _prison walls_. Freedom was so close away, only one low wall was separating them from the undergrowth that could hide them until they reached the cliffs. And beyond that, their boat. A bullet whizzed past Nathan‘s head, making him flinch and raise his free hand reflexively towards his temple, as if flesh was any match against a piece of mental traveling at high speed.

But this shot hadn‘t been aimed at them. Behind him Rafe was returning fire as bullets rained down around them. Then Nathan felt it when Sam jerked, his hazel eyes going wide as he hung precariously onto the ledge. 

„No, no, no no no,“ Nathan whispered urgently, _desperately_. Rafe shouted something, but Nathan couldn‘t hear him clearly over the rushing in his ears. In front of him, Sam coughed. _Suddenly there was blood on his lips._ Stark red against his pale skin.

„Nate...,“ Sam whispered. 

„Nate! We gotta leave,“ Rafe screamed into his ear, by his side from second to the next. A hand shook his shoulder before Rafe took aim once more and a guard fell off the roof. Noise rushed back and Nathan let out a sob, pulled at Sam whose feet scrabbled against the side of the house once more. It was painstaking, getting him up but finally they lay in a heap with Rafe standing over them, firing shot after shot until the magazine clicked empty. 

„Go. Go! GO!“ Rafe screamed and then he was gone, over the wall, while shots still rang out around them. He had left. _He had left._ And suddenly Nathan saw _red_ in anger, the color of Sam‘s blood vivid in his mind. It pushed through the numbness and the panic and forced him upright. Sam stumbled when he pulled him to his feet and let out a moan of pain, holding his stomach. _Red_ was seeping through his fingers, too, contrasting against the gray of their prison uniforms.

„Sam. Sam? Will you be alright?“ Nathan let out another sob and slung Sam‘s arm around his shoulder without waiting for an answer. They had to _go_. Sam let out a cry of pain that tore at Nathan‘s heart when he helped him over the low wall and into the thicket, pushing him into a run. The guards were too close. It was only a matter of minutes until they caught up to them. _And they weren‘t armed._ Nathan had insisted on being unarmed, to not have any causalities, but now his fingers itched for a gun, to return bullet for bullet. How stupid their pacifism felt while red was seeping through Sam‘s shirt and dripping over his fingers, as his cries of pain quieted down into whimpers as he concentrated on running. One foot in front of the others. The boat wasn‘t far away, but there was the drop--

„Leave me behind, Nate,“ Sam whimpered, nearly going to his knees when his foot hooked on a root if Nathan hadn‘t wrapped an arm around his waist and hoisted him back upright. There were running steps behind them now. 

„ _Fuck you_ ,“ Nathan spat, „fuck you, Sam.“ Sam let out a cry when he pulled him forward and Nathan‘s heart nearly stopped again at the agonized sound, stumbling in it‘s racing. He kept his eyes aimed ahead, to where Rafe was running towards the cliff, now visible between the trees. 

_Not far now!_

Sam was silent. A quick look to the side showed him staring at the ground, face tight and gritting his teeth. Blood was spreading farther over his shirt. Nathan‘s heart leaped up to his throat. Shit. Shit. _Shit!_

Up ahead Rafe had disappeared and Nathan braced himself when they reached the place where he had dropped out of sight. He pushed Sam forward and kept going, sliding down the slope. „Sam!“ Nathan cried out when he lost his grip on his brother and more than a dozen yards later tumbled into the sea. Icy water closed over his head. For a long, frozen moment he couldn‘t _breathe_.

Then his head broke the surface and he frantically looked around, calling Sam‘s name. From the boat ahead of him Rafe‘s voice called out to him, shouting at him to hurry up. But Nathan ignored him. Sam had been beside him, somewhere. He snapped for air and _dove_ , keeping his eyes open against the stinging sea as he looked frantically around. Not too far away he could make out a blurry shape, lighter against the backdrop of the deeper ocean. A storm was upon them, turning the water almost black. He swam towards the gray shadow, his hand caught a hold of Sam‘s shirt and _pulled_. Upwards! His chest felt as if it was going to burst and he wasn‘t sure if it was all because of the lack of air, which was making him dizzy.

Sam coughed and sputtered when they swam towards the boat, eyes barely open. They were pulling a dissipating trail of blood behind them. Nathan didn‘t look, but he knew it was there. His mind flashed unbidden to shapes in the deep. Did they had to worry about sharks on top of everything else? Sam‘s movements were slow, sluggish, and barely of any help. There was a wetness on Nathan‘s face--

But they made it, without jaws snapping at their feet. At the ladder, Rafe met him and pulled Sam‘s unresistant form up while Nathan pushed from behind. Then Sam slumped against the side of the boat, eyes slipping shut. Nathan gasped for breath. 

„Let‘s get out of here,“ Nathan croaked to Rafe‘s back, already heading away from him and towards the steering wheel. The motor sputtering to life was almost music to his ears. 

„I wasn‘t about to stay here,“ Rafe shouted back and then they moved. Nathan‘s legs nearly gave out from relief, but he kept himself upright. _Not yet._ Sam had always been there for him and now it was time their positions were reserved. His brother needed him now. He didn‘t dare think of a life where Sam wasn‘t there beside him. 

„Nathan.“ Sam‘s voice was barely audible as they pulled away from the cliffs. 

„Don‘t you dare die on me,“ Nathan hissed, crouching beside him and digging through the storage compartment. His hands shook by the time he found the first aid kit and pulled out two compresses. Or maybe they had been trembling already before? Despite their numerous stints in various prisons throughout the country neither of them had ever been this close to snuffing out--

„I‘ll get us to a hospital. Take care of Sam,“ Rafe called back to him, breaking through his dark thoughts. Nathan bit back a curse. As if he was _not_ going to take care of Sam. He held back the desperate sob that wanted to escape him. His brother needed him now and Nathan was going to do everything he could to ensure he survived. He had to. 

_He had to._

Sam‘s eyes had fluttered shut and Nathan fought down the panic, frantically searching for a heartbeat at his brother‘s throat. At his touch, Sam opened them again, a weak smile on his lips. 

„Nathan,“ he whispered, followed up by a cough. His arms were curled around his middle. _There was too much blood._ Nathan felt sick as he unwrapped the compress. How much blood could a human lose? He was sure it wasn‘t as much as his brother was loosing. „Bullet went through.“ The words were slurred and drew a sob out of Nathan. 

„Please don‘t die on me, Sam,“ Nathan whimpered and pressed the compress to Sam‘s back, right over where the bullets had entered his body. A hiss escaped Sam. One of his hands clawed weakly at Nathan‘s arm. There was no strength left in him, so it was up to Nathan to stop the bleeding. 

Sam grunted when Nathan applied more pressure to his wounds. His eyes fluttered. „I‘ll do my best,“ he whispered almost soundlessly.

Another sob lodged in Nathan‘s throat and he put his head to Sam‘s shoulder to hide his eyes. Not that it mattered. Out here no one could see him cry and no one was going to judge if he did. At the steering wheel, Rafe was a dark silhouette against the light. Nathan tried to remember if bullets going _through_ was good or bad and failed. 

 

Time passed. The ocean rushed past them, the boat pushing the water to the side. Sam‘s breath was labored against Nathan‘s ear, growing fainter. His brother had slumped against him unconscious a while ago. The tears had dried up. A numbness had settled over Nathan. And finally there was land up ahead.

„We‘re almost there,“ Rafe said. „I called ahead.“ Nathan hadn‘t seen him use the radio, but then he hadn‘t paid attention, hadn‘t he? He nodded tiredly as Rafe continued, „There is a hospital close to the water and they‘ll take Sam.“ At Nathan‘s look he added, „it‘ll be fine. They don‘t know what we did.“ In that moment Nathan was grateful for the rich boy‘s presence. 

Then he felt a little less grateful when the people from the hospital all but swarmed onto the ship and reached for his brother. Rafe wrapped his arms around him, restraining him as Nathan shouted at them, tired out and _terrified_.

„Get a hold of yourself!“ Rafe shouted and Nathan let out a bellow of anger when Rafe whirled him around and _slapped him_. Nathan had already raised his fist to retaliate when Sam let out a weak groan and he whipped around again, where the men were loading him into the waiting ambulance. How much had Rafe‘s money bought them? They hadn‘t even asked for their papers. „You‘re not thinking clearly,“ Rafe hissed and smiled at the men as they talked to him. Nathan only caught half of what they were saying, not saying anything in return. _Money really did buy anonymity, did it?_ Nathan thought as they followed the ambulance soon after. There had been a _car_ waiting for them, too. Sam would have had a field day. Who else had Rafe called? Nathan didn‘t find it in him to ask. All his thoughts were focused on _Sam_. 

Once in the hospital, they were told to wait while Sam was brought into one of the rooms for surgery. It was itching in Nathan‘s fingers to storm in, see if they did their job right and saved Sam, but Rafe pushed him down into one of the chairs before he could and left. 

 

A few hours later, Nathan jerked awake. He hadn‘t even noticed that he had fallen asleep in the first place. A doctor was standing in front of him with a grim expression on his face. 

„Your brother lost a lot of blood,“ the man said with a heavy accent that Nathan‘s sleep-addled brain couldn‘t place, „but he will live.“  
That was all that Nathan had wanted to hear and he shot to his feet. Rafe wasn‘t around, but Nathan cared only belatedly about his whereabouts. It was an afterthought. Even though they were going to be stranded here if he was gone for good, cross taken with him. But Nathan was going to worry about that later. He shoved the thought away and entered the room an exasperated nurse guided him to. 

Nathan stopped in the doorway. Sam looked pale and small against the bed, hooked up to machines. The beeping of the monitor grated on Nathan‘s raw nerves, but at least it was a sight that his brother was alive. He didn‘t look the part, too pale and it took Nathan‘s tired eyes a few moments to see his chest rise and fall at all.

„Sam,“ Nathan whispered brokenly. He made it a few steps forward before his legs nearly gave out and he sank into the chair beside the bed. Carefully, he took Sam‘s hand. 

Behind him, Rafe cleared his throat. Then he entered the hospital room when Nathan nodded at him, coffee in hand, one of which he handed to Nathan.

„Sam will be alright,“ he promised and strangely enough Nathan believed him.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry about starting another WIP ^^' This idea has been haunting me for a while now.


End file.
